When It’s not promoting ludicrously out-of-scale new development, the 2021 SoHo/NoHo rezoning is also promoting the creation of oversized single-family mansions and luxury retail developments where affordable housing was promised. Two recent projects illustrate this. 

No. 142 Greene Street had contained multiple joint live/work quarters for artists. Thanks to the rezoning, the 25,000+ square foot building is being converted to a single family mega-mansion with no affordable housing, which would not have been allowed under the prior zoning. Though the City promised all new housing under the rezoning would contain affordable units, we pointed out several loopholes that would allow developers to avoid this requirement. The City insisted such possibilities would never come to pass. Now, in spite of our protests and warnings, they have approved the plans for this new development. See more HERE.

At 144 Spring Street, plans have been filed to build a luxury retail emporium on a vacant lot where the development of four to six units of affordable housing had been projected as part of the rezoning. Such a development would not have been possible under the old zoning. 

As we approach five years since the rezoning, zero units of housing have been built, and zero units of affordable housing. The rate of housing construction in the neighborhood has actually slowed dramatically since the rezoning was enacted, even though it has increased substantially citywide. But several projects like these that clearly violate the premise and promises of the rezoning have advanced, illustrating the rezoning’s many failures. Read more HERE and HERE. 

The City continues to tout rezonings like SoHo/NoHo as great successes, and to say that more are needed throughout our city, especially in neighborhoods like ours. 

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